Pal: David Petraeus admits 'big screw up'

Retired Gen. David Petraeus, who has stepped down as director of the CIA over an extramarital affair, said this week that he “screwed up big-time,” a close friend told CNN.

“You know, he…expressed deep regret for what happened, the damage he had done and the pain he had caused his family,” said Ret. Col. Peter Mansoor, who served with Petraeus in Iraq. “He called his action morally reprehensible and said, in his words, ‘I screwed up big-time.’ And boy did he ever.”

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POLITICO LIVE: Petraeus to testify

Mansoor, speaking on CNN’s “Out Front” Tuesday evening, said Petraeus loved his position at the CIA.

“He really enjoyed his job at the CIA, it was the best job in the world, as far as he was concerned,” Mansoor told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “He had a good relationship with the president and national security team, and he threw that all away for…due to a personal failing. He is very, very down right now.”

After Petraeus stepped down Friday afternoon, a series of reports surfaced, indicating that Petraeus was ensnared in more than just an extramarital affair. His former mistress, Paula Broadwell, was reportedly the subject of an FBI probe: a series of threatening emails sent to a female friend of Petraeus’s have allegedly been traced back to her, as have another batch of emails sent to top military officials, in which Broadwell allegedly maligned the friend, Jill Kelley. Kelley is now mired in a possible scandal of her own, involving the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.

Broadwell, Petraeus’s biographer, got to know him and his “inner circle” while working on a dissertation, Mansoor said, before ultimately writing the book “All In: The Education of David Petraeus.” Mansoor met Broadwell through her work with Petraeus

“Well, she struck me as a supremely confident, fairly attractive, physically fit woman with a huge agenda,” said Mansoor, who met her in the summer of 2009.

Mansoor added that he didn’t understand why Petraeus gave Broadwell the extensive access she received when she decided to write the book.

The two did not begin the affair until after he left the military, news reports say.

“I thought it very strange that Gen. Petraeus at that point didn’t distance himself from her, because we had a couple of rules…” Mansoor said. “And one was, no extended embeds for reporters with Gen. Petraeus and no personality profiles, and that’s exactly what she ended up doing. And I think to his detriment.”

Readers' Comments (6)

Livingston County Argus and Press a small town rag that hangs on the tails of the Mike Rogers (R) Michigan family and prints the news slants Livingston County movers and shakers want ( pepper with a lot of non truth).

Petraeus blood isn't even cold in the water yet and Mike has his county rag printing article about Mike taking over as head of the CIA. Now, how can Mike investigate Petraeus when it is obviously Mikey is lobbing for the job Petraeus holds?

Romney crime syndicate wiseman Mike Rogers (R) Michigan thinks he has a chance at head of CIA

This should put people up in arms.. Corrupt Mike Rogers (R) Brighton, Michigan and Romney water-carrier as head of CIA... Mike is behind the Patriot Act illegal wiretapping of Americans and his family runs one corrupt county ( Livingston County, Michigan). This damn crook needs to be out of office not given another position.

Both he and Broadwell should be court martialed. This is about a lot more than a sordid affair by a star struck admirer. It was a blatant attempt to unseat the president with a false story about the CIA having advance warning and holding terrorist prisoners in Begazhi. Fox News and the Romney folks ran with the Benghazi story to whip up votes and it failed. Broadwell gave a speech Oct. 26 in Denver in which she told this big lie and said it came from a reliable CIA source. No wonder Petreaus resigned when Romney lost. This harkens back to some of Nixon's dirty tricks using the CIA to stop FBI investigations of Watergate. And guess who worked on dirty tricks for Nixon- frat boy Rove. And now we get Fox News and Murdock involved just like in Britain. Where Eric Cantor gets roped in by jezebel no. 2 remains to be seen.

Both he and Broadwell should be court martialed. This is about a lot more than a sordid affair by a star struck admirer. It was a blatant attempt to unseat the president with a false story about the CIA having advance warning and holding terrorist prisoners in Begazhi. Fox News and the Romney folks ran with the Benghazi story to whip up votes and it failed. Broadwell gave a speech Oct. 26 in Denver in which she told this big lie and said it came from a reliable CIA source. No wonder Petreaus resigned when Romney lost. This harkens back to some of Nixon's dirty tricks using the CIA to stop FBI investigations of Watergate. And guess who worked on dirty tricks for Nixon- frat boy Rove. And now we get Fox News and Murdock involved just like in Britain. Where Eric Cantor gets roped in by jezebel no. 2 remains to be seen.

Really, Really nice Screed Atlanta.

Gosh you touched all bases, I don''t imagine it would be too much to ask for you to support all your accusations?

Godel's Proof- They have this program on the internet called Google. If you type in Broadwell-+Benghazi+prisoners you even might find the story. Here is one report:

""""""""""The CIA has now flatly denied Paula Broadwell’s claims that the CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya, was housing Libyan terrorists until it was destroyed in the September 11 assault. Broadwell claimed on October 26 that her sources had told her that the story was still being vetted. The fact that nobody else reported Broadwell’s allegations have raised the possibility that she got the information from now-disgraced former CIA Director David Petraeus during a pillow-talk session. Broadwell had alleged, “I don’t know if a lot of you have heard this, but the CIA annex had actually had taken a couple of Libyan militia members prisoner. And they think that the attack on the consulate was an effort to try to get these prisoners back.”""""""""""""""

This is from Breitbart.com on November 12, 2012. Try telling me that Breitbart.com is part of the lamestream media. I assume you only get your news from Fox and Limbaugh. By the way has he called Broadwell a slut yet? why not? she did not use contraceptives?